Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

's ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' (1962–1963) and had roles in live-action films. However, she was most active in radio programs, where her characters were known for their husky voices and no-nonsense attitudes. Two of her most famous roles were as Dennis Day's mother, Mrs. Day on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' (1939–1962) and as Hilda Crocker on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom ''

December Bride ''December Bride'' is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959. It was adapted from the original CBS radio network series of the same name that aired from June 1952 through September 1953. Overview ''De ...

'' (1952–1959). Felton's television appearances include those in ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

'', ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'', ''

Where's Raymond? ''Where's Raymond?'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC, starring Ray Bolger. The series aired from October 1953 to April 22, 1955. The series' title was spurred by Bolger's Broadway stage hit ''Where's Charley?''. In the 1954–1955 seaso ...

'', ''

Pete and Gladys ''Pete and Gladys'' is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was b ...

'' and '' Dennis the Menace''.

Early years

Verna Arline Felton was born in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

, on July 20, 1890. Her father, Horace Wilcox Felton, a doctor, died shortly before her ninth birthday. When going over his accounts after his death, Felton's mother Clara Winder Felton (née Lawrence) discovered that although her husband had a large medical practice in San Jose, there were no records of his patients' payments for treatment and no cash in the office. Shortly before her father's death, Felton had performed in a local benefit for victims of the Galveston Flood. Her singing and dancing attracted the attention of a manager of a road show company that was playing in San Jose at the time. The manager spoke to Felton's mother, offering to give Felton a job with his company. Since the family was experiencing difficult financial times with the loss of Felton's father, her mother contacted the road show manager. Felton quickly joined the cast of the show, growing up in the theater.

Early career

An August 19, 1900, newspaper advertisement for Fischer's Concert House in San Francisco listed among the performers "Little Verna Felton, the Child Wonder." By 1903, she was acting with the Allen Stock Company, which that year toured the west coast of the United States and performed in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. By 1907, she was still with the Allen troupe, but she had progressed from child performer to leading lady. Herbert Bashford wrote a play, ''The Defiance of Doris'', specifically for Felton, and the Allen company included it among the group's productions in 1910. She acted in stage plays at the Empress Theatre in Vancouver in the late 1920s, playing the lead role in ''Goldfish'', ''Stella Dallas'', and ''

The Second Mrs. Tanqueray ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' is a problem play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It utilises the "Woman with a past" plot, popular in nineteenth century melodrama. The play was first produced in 1893 by the actor-manager George Alexander and despite ca ...

''. Future husband

Lee Millar Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

(1888–1941) directed the band for these plays.

Radio and television

Felton worked extensively in the 1930s and 1950s in radio, notably playing The Mom in ''

The Cinnamon Bear ''The Cinnamon Bear'' is an old-time radio program produced by Transco (Transcription Company of America), based in Hollywood, California. The series was specifically designed to be listened to six days a week between Thanksgiving and Christma ...

'', Junior the Mean Widdle Kid's grandmother on

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

's radio series, Hattie Hirsch on ''Point Sublime'', and

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

's protective, domineering, and authoritative mother, Mrs. Day, who was always looking out for him while trying to boss around

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

on ''

''. In addition, she performed on radio as a regular on ''

The Abbott and Costello Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and ''

The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...

''. She played the fairy godmother in re-imaginings of the Cinderella story that were included in episodes of the series ''

Screen Directors Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadcas ...

'', and ''

Hallmark Playhouse ''Hallmark Playhouse'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology series. It was broadcast on CBS from June 10, 1948 until February 1, 1953, and was described by one author as "a program that consistently produced the highest levels of prod ...

''. Felton's first television appearance was in a 1951 episode of ''

The Amos 'n Andy Show ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'' as a nurse. She appeared in a recurring role as the mother of Ruth Farley, a young woman played by

Gloria Winters Gloria Winters (November 28, 1931 – August 14, 2010) was an actress most remembered for having portrayed the well-mannered Nephew and niece, niece, Penny King, in the 1950s – 1960s United States, American Television show#Seasons/series, ...

in the 1953–55

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcom with a variety show theme, ''

'', renamed '' The Ray Bolger Show''. The series starred

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances. Though some sitcom aficionados might assume that her guest appearances on ''

'' led to a regular supporting role as Hilda Crocker on the

sitcom ''

'', Felton had played that same character on the radio version two years prior to the television production. ''December Bride'' also starred

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

Dean Miller Roger Dean Miller Jr. (born October 15, 1965) is an American country singer, known professionally as Dean Miller. He is the son of Roger Miller, a country pop artist who had several hit singles from the 1960s through the 1980s. Dean Miller has ...

Frances Rafferty Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

, and

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

. Felton continued her Hilda Crocker role on the ''December Bride'' spin-off, ''

'', with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. For her performance on ''December Bride'', Felton was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begi ...

in 1958 and in 1959. Felton was the original voice of Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople, voicing the character as a semi-regular in seasons two and three of

's landmark TV series ''

''. Fred's mother-in-law was not named during Felton's run; the "Slaghoople" name was mentioned in season four when

Janet Waldo Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from '' B ...

debuted in the role. In 1963, in the series finale of CBS's '' Dennis the Menace'' sitcom, Felton played John Wilson's aunt in the episode entitled "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons". In the story line, Mr. Wilson (

Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...

) tries to convince Aunt Emma to leave her estate to him and his wife, Eloise (

Sara Seegar Sara Seegar (born Sarah Wall Seegar; July 1, 1914 – August 12, 1990) was an American actress. A performer on stage, film, radio, and television, she may best be remembered for her role as Mrs. Wilson in the 1962–63 season of '' Dennis the M ...

). Wilson becomes suspicious when Emma begins spending time with Dennis Mitchell (

Jay North Jay North (born August 3, 1951) is an American actor. His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s with roles in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films. At age 7 he became a household name for his role as the well-mean ...

). Felton's son Lee Millar Jr. played Tommy Anderson's father on the same sitcom.

Film and animation

Felton's on-screen appearance was in the 1917 silent film, ''The Chosen Prince, or the Friendship of David and Jonathan''. During the 1940s and the early 1950s, she was in demand as a character actress on films, with roles in ''

If I Had My Way ''If I Had My Way'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean. Based on a story by David Butler, the film is about a construction worker who takes charge of the daughter of a friend killed i ...

'' (1940), ''

Girls of the Big House ''Girls of the Big House'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Lynne Roberts, Virginia Christine and Marion Martin.LoBrutto p.449 The film's sets were designed by the art director Gano Chittenden. Plot A c ...

'' (1945), ''

The Fuller Brush Man ''The Fuller Brush Man'' is a 1948 American comedy film starring Red Skelton as a door-to-door salesman for the Fuller Brush Company who becomes a murder suspect. Plot Success doesn't exactly stare the unfortunate street cleaner Red Jones (Red Sk ...

'' (1948),''

Buccaneer's Girl ''Buccaneer's Girl'' is a 1950 American Technicolor romantic adventure film directed by Frederick de Cordova starring Yvonne De Carlo and Philip Friend. Plot Deborah McCoy, a New Orleans singer, is on a ship that is captured by the forces of t ...

'' (1950), ''

Belles on Their Toes ''Belles on Their Toes'' is a 1950 autobiographical book written by the siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. It is the follow-up to their book ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (1948), which covered the period after Frank Gil ...

'' (1952), ''

Don't Bother to Knock ''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' b ...

'' (1952), and her memorable role as Mrs. Potts warmly acting as surrogate mother to

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

in the 1955

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

's stage play ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

''. Felton was a popular actress at the Walt Disney Studios, lending her voice to several animated features, including: *''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

'' (1941) as the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's Mother *''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' (1950) as

The Fairy Godmother This is a list of books by Mercedes Lackey, arranged by collection. Valdemar universe Some of the trilogies follow on chronologically from each other, while others are set a considerable number of years apart from the others -- overall the books ...

*''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' (1951) as the

Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by ...

*''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hami ...

'' (1955) as Aunt Sarah, Jim Dear's aunt (Felton's son voiced Jim Dear and the dogcatcher) *''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'' (1959) as Flora, the Red Fairy and Queen Leah, Princess Aurora's mother *''

Goliath II ''Goliath II'' is a 1960 American animated comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Productions. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Bill Peet, it is narrated by Sterling Holloway and stars the voices of Kevin Corcoran, Barbara Jo A ...

'' (1960) as Eloise the Elephant *''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...

'' (1967) as Winifred the Elephant (her final role, animated or live-action) According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Felton served as Honorary Mayor of

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

for several years.

Death

Felton died at her home of a stroke at the age of 76 in the evening of December 14, 1966. She is interred at

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory is a historic cemetery located in Glendale, California, in the United States. Established in 1884 as Glendale Cemetery, it changed its name to Grand View Memorial Park in 1919. The cemetery was the focus of ...

in Glendale, California.

Filmography

Radio

Film

Television

Discography

* ''Walt Disney's Cinderella: Little Miller Series'' (1949, RCA/Camden) - The Fairy Godmother * ''Walt Disney's Cinderella'' (1954, RCA/Camden) - The Fairy Godmother * ''Disney Songs and Story: Sleeping Beauty'' (2012, Walt Disney Records) - Flora / Queen Leah

References

Other sources *Terrace, Vincent. ''Radio Programs, 1924–84''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. *Tucker, Fredrick. ''Verna Felton''. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2010.

External links

* *
Portrait gallery
(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Verna 1890 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from California American film actresses American radio actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Audiobook narrators Burials at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery Disney people Hanna-Barbera people People from Salinas, California